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Saturday, 6 April 2013

Immortalized in skin-like rubber, these giant dinosaur toys looked and felt so impressive on the shelves of toy stores in 1993. This particular Tyrannosaurus model was the supreme choice if you were around for the hype of Jurassic Park.

This toy was quite special in that it was cast from the production-used maquette by Stan Winston Studios - a fact not many kids knew when they got these for Christmas. By squeezing the chest, an electronic roar could be activated that simultaneously opened it's jaws. By slamming the feet of the toy onto a hard surface, you could recreate the earth trembling rumble noise that put the heebie jeebies into Jeff Goldblum.

Although the sounds were not film accurate, these electronic features made the toy instantly impressive for the early 1990s - when compared with die cast plastic museum figurines, the only other Dinosaur toys available at that time. It's sheer size made it too big for it's own box, giving every Rex a distinctive kink in the tail (TIP: if you still own one of these and want to remove the kink, try running the tail under luke warm water and massaging the bend, it should eventually relax back to it's original form).

This sheer scale combined with it's tactile skin made this toy a joy to play with. With quite a steep price tag, this was not a common toy. For me, it was mainly played with at the kid with wealthy parents' house, but this scarceness made it all the more appealing.

Comment below if you owned/played with this toy, and as always check out the video review demonstrating all the features mentioned above.

Friday, 5 April 2013

Made by a talented member of the EFX group, Rylo, this Embryo cryocan is a screen accurate replica of the prop used by the villain Dennis Nedry in the film Jurassic Park (1993).

The inner spring loaded parts are lovingly machined from aluminum, giving the can a striking heaviness and authenticity. The central rack can be released by twisting the base, and reseated by pushing the rack down and re-twisting the base to secure it. The Embryo vials are all labelled to match the dinosaur codes seen in the film, and can be removed/replaced from the rack.

Unfortunately this replica does not spray foam! But it is speculated the original was swapped for a working can during filming, as the removable aluminum section would prevent the pressurized foam from physically working.

If you're searching for one of these, Ebay is a good place, but the accuracy varies as this piece has been replicated by many. Expect to pay $200-400 for an accurate replica.

Look for the screen accurate brown band (not black) and flat base with a screw head to identify one of Rylo's replicas. Also available is a concave base variation, made by prop maker with the online alias NicksDad, and created in a steel finish. This is a rarer piece to find but some collectors prefer the concave base version.

Rylo's Embryo Cryocan is however favoured by many for it's appearance on the Jurassic Park Special Features of the 2011 Blu Ray, where it was presented and held by it's designer, a talented concept artist called John Bell.